Definitions

(1) The "portal network" is a technical linkage of the administrative portals of the Federation and the Länder, through which access to administrative services is offered across different portals.
(2) An "administrative portal" means an already bundled electronic administrative offering comprising the corresponding offerings of individual authorities.
(3) "Electronic administrative services" within the meaning of this Act are the electronic handling of administrative procedures and the electronic provision of information to, and communication with, the user that this requires, over generally accessible networks.
(4) "Users" within the meaning of this Act are 1. natural persons, 2. undertakings within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Basic Company Data Register Act, and 3. authorities.
(5) A "user account" is a central IT component for the one-off or permanent identification and authentication of users for the purpose of making use of the public administration's administrative services, and for secure, transaction-related communication via a mailbox within the meaning of subsection (7). A user account is provided either as a citizen account or an organisation account. The "citizen account" is a user account made available to natural persons. The "organisation account" is a user account made available to undertakings within the meaning of section 3(1) of the Basic Company Data Register Act, as well as to authorities.
(6) "IT components" within the meaning of this Act are IT applications, basic services, digital tools, and the electronic implementation of standards, interfaces and security requirements that are necessary for connection to the portal network, for the operation of the portal network, and for handling administrative services within the portal network.
(7) A "mailbox" is an IT component through which users can communicate, on a transaction-related basis, with the public bodies connected to the portal network without media discontinuity, free of barriers and securely, and can send and receive electronic documents and information. The mailbox forms part of a user account.
(8) An "online service" is an IT component that constitutes a self-contained electronic offering to users, enabling the handling of one or more electronic administrative services of the Federation or the Länder. The online service serves the electronic completion of online forms for administrative services of the Federation or the Länder, the disclosure of this data to the competent specialist authority, and the transmission to users of electronic documents and information relating to administrative matters, where appropriate involving user accounts, including their function of transmitting data from a user account to an authority responsible for the administrative service. The online service may also be provided independently of the particular procedure and across Länder, in particular under the responsibility of a Land authority, for use by other Länder.
(9) An authority within the meaning of this Act is any body that performs functions of public administration.